Free Web NovelChapter 1152: Chapter 466: Three Ways with One Duck—Not a Bit of Ingredient Wasted! The Lin Family’s Dinner!
"Last time, I didn’t get to see the carved double fish on the lactone tofu in person during the competition, which I always found regretful. Today, I got to witness another exquisite knife skill."
It’s not difficult to carve a uniformly textured ingredient into a gourd shape, but to make it lifelike, even carving out the depression at the base of the gourd, is quite impressive.
Moreover, it wasn’t done with a carving knife, but with the most ordinary kitchen knife.
Then, Lin Xu carved a few green gourds out of lettuce, placed them aside, to be used for the final garnish.
After steaming the duck in the pot for two hours, Lin Xu turned off the heat, covered the pot, and let it stew for another two minutes before starting to take it out.
As he lifted the lid, a rich and fresh fragrance wafted out from the pot, making one’s mouth water at the scent.
He carefully took out the clay pot from the large steamer, placed it on the workstation, brought over an empty plate, carefully lifted the bamboo grate inside the clay pot, and placed the gourd duck onto the plate.
The gourd duck was now a vibrant red and full of aroma, tender and falling apart, impossible to handle with bare hands.
Placing it on the plate, he used a long, rectangular plate to cover the gourd duck, quickly flipped it over so that the duck was inverted on another plate.
He removed the top plate, took off the bamboo mesh, and carefully snipped the tied grass around the gourd duck with scissors.
With chopsticks, he carefully arranged the gourd duck for presentation, and then it was time to pour the sauce.
He poured the original broth from steaming the duck through a sieve into a pot, brought it to a boil over high heat, stirring continuously with a ladle, and then added some starch water made from potato starch.
When the sauce became thick, he added some fried chicken oil to the pot.
For the Eight Treasure Gourd Duck, which involves both frying and steaming, and uses a richly fatty duck, aroma is indisputable, but it slightly lacks umami, so fried chicken oil is used to enhance the flavor.
He poured the chicken oil into the pot and slowly stirred with the back of the ladle to allow the chicken oil to melt slowly.
This method brightens the sauce and allows the umami flavor of the chicken oil to release slowly, making it linger longer.
If stirred quickly, the umami would immediately evaporate, and vigorous stirring of the thickened sauce could make it break apart.
With the glossy, thick sauce ready, he carefully drizzled it over the gourd duck with a ladle.
The presentation of the whole duck was instantly elevated.
It was originally just well-presented, but now it seemed enhanced, as if with special effects; the glossy sauce gave the gourd duck an enticing color and aroma.
Finally, he placed the carved small gourds on the plate for decoration.
This traditional dish, symbolizing happiness and prosperity, was thus completed.
"Beautiful! If Junior Brother can make the Gourd Duck this well, then there shouldn’t be any problem with Lu cuisine’s other traditional dish, Bag Chicken."
Qi Zhentao added:
"You could also try making the Huaiyang style Three-in-One Duck, Master Lin’s craftsmanship is truly admirable."
Lin Xu smiled and said:
"It’s not that my skills are exceptional, it’s just that this dish isn’t difficult. Except for the bone removal being a bit tricky, the rest is just normal cooking, and people can try it at home during their leisure time; it can definitely make you the star of the family!"
The tasting session began, and Geng Lishan didn’t eat immediately but said:
"To enjoy this dish, you need to appreciate it; otherwise, the chef’s painstaking effort is wasted. Why aren’t chefs nowadays interested in kung fu dishes? Even if they make them, they don’t put in much effort because they don’t get positive feedback from diners. The whole dish is made with meticulous details, yet diners just gobble it down like a cow chewing peonies... In such a situation, I’d also be half-hearted."
Zeng Xiaoqi asked:
"How do you think Boss Lin did with this dish?"
"Very well, especially the treatment of the duck’s tail, which is ingenious. Many who make this dish don’t know that the duck’s tail and musk should be removed, then tied up inside. This not only makes the duck taste better but also look..."
Geng Lishan pointed to the depression at the duck’s tail:
"How much it resembles the base of a gourd; this is the chef’s brilliance. As a diner, you need to perceive this, to enjoy it more when eating!"
Zeng Xiaoqi added:
"Is there such sophistication in eating?"
"Yes, it’s like when young people make jokes. If someone tells a joke and you don’t get it or can’t respond, they’ll feel like it’s casting pearls before swine. If you can respond without saying much, the knowing smile between those who understand can make both feel happy, and when you’re in a good mood, the food naturally tastes better."
After finishing, Geng Lishan pointed with his chopsticks to the duck wing root and the area where the duck leg is inverted:
"Lin’s method is quite correct. By tucking the skin and meat inside, and with the stuffing pressing outwards, it looks naturally full... If a chef isn’t skilled or is a bit inexperienced, they might just remove the duck leg and wing root and sew them up with a needle."
After his review, Geng Lishan used chopsticks to cut into the duck, separating its skin and meat, and releasing the fragrant aroma of the stuffing.
There’s the aroma of the duck itself, the scent of lard, and the fragrance from ingredients like glutinous rice, ham, sea scallop, flower mushroom, and winter bamboo shoots.
Altogether, it exudes an irresistible aroma.
The stuffing, held together by glutinous rice and with its glossy red color, was mouth-watering.
Geng Lishan scooped some stuffing with a spoon and tasted it, nodding as he said:
"The simple seasoning perfectly retained the fresh aroma of the ingredients, combined with the flavors of lard and duck fat, truly an indulgence when tasted."
